


23. Destroyed childhood

by tveckling



Series: Dare to Write challenge [29]
Category: Romeo And Juliet - All Media Types
Genre: Gen
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2016-09-28
Updated: 2016-09-28
Packaged: 2018-08-18 09:46:43
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 723
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/8157796
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/tveckling/pseuds/tveckling
Summary: Even the strongest bonds can break if one does not care for it well enough.





	

**Author's Note:**

  * For [kecchan](https://archiveofourown.org/users/kecchan/gifts).



Tybalt was four when Julia was born. He was an only child and had been very satisfied about this, up until the moment he was told about his newborn cousin and how he would have to take care of and protect her. His nurse had commented fondly how he swelled with pride at the assignment, and from then on he was always at Julia's side.

Not even the nurse could calm Julia down as quickly as when Tybalt stroked the baby's head and whispered soothing words. When she took her first, stumbling steps, it was into Tybalt's expectant arms and wide grin. Her first word was 'Tyba', which she kept repeating for days without end until she learned 'meow' and started chasing the house cats instead. It annoyed Tybalt, and he kept insisting that they were called 'cats', but Julia screamed 'meow' back at him until she was blue in the face. It was their first fight, and the hostility lasted for about five minutes before Julia giggled and showed Tybalt the big worm she had caught.

The adults might have thought that there would be a time when Tybalt would abandon his younger cousin in favor of friends his own age, as kids usually did, but Tybalt was more stubborn than any had expected. He still made friends that he played with and ran around the city with, but he always held tight to Julia's hand—even when she was supposed to be at home or having lessons. More than often she was happy to run around and have adventures with the older boys, but Tybalt never said no to her when she wanted to sit down and braid his hair or play with dolls, no matter what his friends thought about it. Several times he had gotten into fights for insisting that she was more important than any of them, and the sight of him sitting bloody and bruised, listening to Julia telling a story, had given their nurse a scare more than once. She always complained of him sending her to an early grave as she washed him, with Julia playing with the water next to them.

There is a saying, that all good things must come to an end, and no person is an exception to this.

As the two grew older their lives began to change, and they were pulled in different directions. Tybalt spent more and more time training with the sword, as well as studying what his father saw fit; he belonged to a prominent family, after all, and he had to make sure he didn't bring shame upon any of them. Julia was forced to spend more time with her lessons, learning what a woman ought to know and preparing for the day when she would be head of her own household. Their days of finding adventures around the city were over.

Still, they found time for each other. Early in the morning or late at night they would meet and share stories, finding strength in the bond between them. It was easier to endure all the demands from around you when you had someone to share your thoughts and worries with. Despite their busy schedule they made sure to always take some time where they could just be themselves.

Tybalt was fifteen, almost sixteen, when his father died in a skirmish between the Capulets and Montagues. A few months later his mother followed, having wasted away in her grief, and Tybalt stood alone. He still had his aunt and uncle, and Julia, but he couldn't feel it any longer. His father had always told him about the feud, he had always made sure to keep away from those Montague boys, but that was when he realized his father's words. There would be no peace, there could be none, until the Montagues were gone, every last one of them. They had taken the lives of two of his most loved persons, and he would be damned if he let them take someone else away from him.

Tybalt didn't notice the one he left behind, the small but dear meetings he skipped, the bond that was left aching. He had his eyes on the future, on what might happen and what he must do to stop it, and didn't notice how he let his present crumble.


End file.
